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It’s time to get ‘a little help from my friends’

There’s little doubt I love music – all kinds of music. From John Lennon’s guitar gently weeping to Pink asking everyone to raise their glasses and toast the party, it’s relevant to me.

Oct 13, 2012

There’s little doubt I love music – all kinds of music. From John Lennon’s guitar gently weeping to Pink asking everyone to raise their glasses and toast the party, it’s relevant to me.
I’ve dropped the bass with the Beastie Boys, cried during a Grateful Dead ballad and sympathized with both Marley and Clapton for shooting the sheriff, however, neglecting the abilities of that darned deputy.
My new co-workers have even picked up on it and even gotten used to some tune or another playing on my iPhone throughout the day in the office. With more than 500 to choose from in my library, it’s a craps-shoot as to what might be playing – Eminem, Skynyrd, Phish – you name it.
Music connects and transcends generations. Recently, I was playing a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” recorded by Mumford and Sons on their new album. A colleague of mine recognized the song immediately but questioned who was performing it. That might be the best definition of really good music.
A lot of times, I draw inspiration from music, hence all the mushy ramblings you see before you now. But I really cannot remember a time in my life when music wasn’t a part of it. I think it all dates back to listening to old 33 records of the Chipmunks on my portable player at my grandparents’ house. It was in that same house I was introduced to the Old-Time Gospel Hour on the radio, and how I loved that four-part harmony, especially the big finish.
It’s that same inspiration that I call upon now with our readers. As the headline suggests – just as the Beatles did years ago – I’m calling on my friends in Lebanon and Wilson County to give us a little help. It doesn’t take much and can be done in several ways, but it will mean a whole lot.
The first empowers all of our readers as reporters. In other words, if you see news, report news. This goes a long way in informing everyone of what’s going on in Wilson County.
But, you might ask, “Isn’t that what you get paid to do?” Well, yes, among other things. Part of my job is to gather the news. Another is to put it in a form that is easily understandable and craft all of that into a package that is visually attractive.
The fact is, we have a small staff at The Democrat, as well as the Mt. Juliet News and Hartsville Vidette, for that matter. While we are going to do our dead-level best to gather all the news we feel is important to you, we are inevitably going to miss something.
And that’s where you come into play. If you know cool stuff going on around the county, if you see something out of place that might need attention or if you generally just have an interesting story, give me a call or email me. We might not get to all of them, but there’s a better chance of making the paper than if you keep it to yourself.
On Friday, readers got the chance to find out more about one of our neighbors who is successfully growing bananas in Lebanon. What a neat story, and it all came from a simple phone call.
The second request I have only requires a few clicks on your keyboard. The Democrat is teaming up with the Lebanon-Wilson County Chamber of Commerce to bring a candidate forum and debate on Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. at Lebanon High School auditorium. It’s a chance to meet and greet the candidates, as well as learn more about their platforms.
We want questions to ask. What’s important to you? We want to know so we can pick the best ones and ask these candidates who are vying to lead our communities.
Those are just a couple of simple ways to get involved without a whole lot of effort. As I’ve said before in this space, this is your newspaper. We just put it together for you and deliver it to your doorstep or mailbox.
After all, we’re here to sing your praises.
Jared Felkins is the director of content for The Lebanon Democrat, Mt. Juliet News and Hartsville Vidette. Call him at 615-444-3952, ext. 13, email at jfelkins@lebanondemocrat.com or follow him on Twitter @paperboyfelkins.